Assessment Underway

A seemingly frail little girl ran at the tail end of the group; even if she didn't trip, it was unlikely she could finish the hundred laps.

By now, many children who knew they couldn't keep going had already given up, leaving only her and another boy with thick eyebrows at the back of the pack.

Seeing this, a Chunin responsible for tracking the laps moved to help her up and assist her in leaving, but the moment he touched her hand, the girl summoned strength from somewhere unknown and shook him off.

The girl stood up shakily and continued to run, looking as though she might collapse again at any moment.

This little girl caught Ruri's attention, so he checked her with the system.

[Name: Nogami Yuna]
[Overall Strength: None]
[Talent: None]
[Attribute: Water]
[Special Ability: None]
[Evaluation: Utterly mediocre, cannon fodder on the battlefield.]

This was perhaps the legendary "three-nothing" girl; it was the worst panel Ruri had ever seen. The girl truly lacked the aptitude to become a ninja. Even if she only had the aptitude of a Chunin, Ruri would have considered letting her pass this round given her performance of constantly falling, standing up, and moving forward. But without even the aptitude of a Genin, there was no need to keep trying.

By the tenth time Yuna fell, Ruri could no longer sit still and signaled Takenaka Masakata beside him to escort her away. For someone without talent, even ten thousand times the effort would be in vain. The world of ninjas was just that cruel; the ceiling was fixed. Even if one exhausted every ounce of strength to barely become a Genin, it would only lead to dying on the battlefield. People say Might Guy and Rock Lee are geniuses of hard work, but they were geniuses to begin with; without talent, the Eight Inner Gates could never be mastered.

Yuna collapsed; she no longer had a shred of strength left, drenched in sweat under the scorching sun.

However, Masashige ran over before Masakata could. He was currently in eighth place, a good result; he only needed to finish four more laps to easily pass the first round of the exam and even earn the sushi and ice water reserved for the top ten.

But Masashige chose not to chase his ranking. After helping the listless Yuna up, he asked softly, "How many laps are left?"

"..." Yuna didn't reply. She didn't even have the strength to speak, and she knew that this was likely the end of the road for her.

"I counted. You ran seventy-two laps, so twenty-eight remain. We'll run them together," Masashige said earnestly. He draped Yuna's arm over his shoulder and, while supporting her, hoisted her onto his back and began to walk.

Even though Masashige had the overall strength of a Genin, he was still just a child; his power and stamina had not reached their peak. How could he run while carrying someone else? Thus, they moved very slowly, step by step, until even the thick-browed boy at the very back overtook them.

"Is this Takikage-sama's disciple?" Mu glanced at Takenaka Masakata, who was standing halfway there, unsure of what to do, and pointed at Masashige.

"That's right, he is a very talented child," Ruri said indifferently.

"If one helps others without having the ability to do so, it will only drag oneself down in the end. This is not something a ninja should do." Mu was curious about how Ruri would handle this. At this rate, even if Masashige finished the hundred laps with the little girl, he would be over the time limit.

"Perhaps." Ruri knew of the kindness in Masashige's heart, but he also knew that Masashige had his own judgment. Someone who couldn't even run a hundred laps truly had no ninja talent; if he were acting out of kindness, he should have been persuading others to know their limits. Therefore, there must be some hidden reason Ruri didn't know about.

Soon, the time limit arrived. The children who finished in the top ten had already received their sushi and bento boxes, eating and drinking on the sidelines while receiving praise from their parents. Their names were also written on a wooden board to display their glory.

There were two commoner children in the top ten, one in fifth place and one in tenth, which could be considered a good start.

The running did not end there. Even after the time limit passed, some were still running. They weren't unable to finish, but were either a bit slower or had failed to pace themselves. Most of these children were commoners. To show his recognition of them, Ruri gifted each of them a kunai engraved with the Takigakure emblem.

Finally, after the thick-browed boy crawled through his hundredth lap and tucked away his gifted kunai, Masashige arrived at the finish line with Yuna on his back.

"The first round of the exam is over! Anyone who did not finish one hundred laps within the time limit is eliminated!" Ruri stood up and announced loudly. Beside him, Takenaka Masakata looked at Masashige, seemingly wanting to say something, but hesitated for a long time before staying silent.

"Takikage-sama is truly strict. Your disciple clearly had the strength to be in the top ten, yet he was eliminated because he helped someone else," Mu remarked.

"That was his own choice, and he must pay the price for it," Ruri said expressionlessly, looking at Masashige, who was gritting his teeth.

"Takikage-sama, Lu Fei has worked so hard for so long to finish those hundred laps, please give him another chance!"

"Takikage-sama, Kashi lost his way on the path of life, which is why he didn't perform to his full potential. Please give him another chance!"

"Takikage-sama, a murder suddenly occurred next door to Konan's house..."

"Takikage-sama, Togashi stayed up late playing mahjong last night..."

"Takikage-sama..."

"Taki..."

The moment Ruri announced the results, the entire clearing erupted in noise. Many of the people were prominent ninjas from various clans, and some Jonin were among them. They all wanted to fight for their children; after all, in the eyes of parents, their own children were the best, and their elimination was always due to some objective reason or another.

Hagane Masamasa also spoke up to persuade him; his son and daughter were only a hair's breadth away from passing, and if they could try again, they would surely succeed.

Ruri signaled for everyone to be quiet. He had anticipated this situation. This was a form of examination that had never been seen before, and with two commoner children in the top ten, how were the parents of the clan-born children who were eliminated supposed to feel? Were they to admit that their children were inferior to commoners?

Ruri had already prepared a response for this situation. He continued, "If you are dissatisfied with these results, you may participate in the make-up session. Let your children run another eight hundred laps. There is no time limit; finishing counts as passing the exam, and they will be eligible to participate in the second round the day after tomorrow."

"Eight hundred laps?"

"Takikage-sama isn't..."

"Forget it, Daxiong will die if he runs eight hundred laps. We withdraw."

"Forget it, forget it. There's enrollment next year. Qiyu is only five; starting today, he will do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, and 100 squats every day. He will definitely become a ninja for the sake of his interests by next year."

"That's right, if it doesn't work this year, there's still a chance next year. It's not worth risking his life for eight hundred laps..."

Ruri's conditions for the make-up session were too harsh. Although there was no time limit, eight hundred laps would require a full-fledged Genin to exhaust every bit of their strength. Those with poorer constitutions might not be able to move after seven hundred laps, let alone these children who had just finished two hundred.

Seeing that Ruri had no intention of backing down, people left the field one after another, muttering that perhaps the ninja academy's education wasn't as good as home-schooling anyway! In the end, only six people remained standing in place. Masashige and Yuna stayed as a matter of course, and the thick-browed boy at the back remained as well.